Colton High School’s class of 2009 had its graduation ceremony Thursday night in the football stadium at the high school.

In total, 516 graduates received their diplomas. The valedictorian was Alex Salazar.

Assistant principal Sally Torres said it was great to see a group of students she had known for years graduate.

“They were my first class at the middle school when I was an assistant principal there, so to see them graduate is just special,” she said. “And they are all academic achievers with wonderful personalities.”

Bloomington High School, also in the Colton Joint Unified School District, held its graduation Wednesday night.

Around 525 graduates received diplomas at Arrowhead Credit Union Park in San Bernardino. Valedictorian was Adeba Mohammad.

It was the first time the high school has held its graduation ceremony at Arrowhead.

“This class probably exceeded all of our academic expectations. We had students who received full ride scholarships to UCLA, three of the young ladies have received full ride scholarships for softball skills and we have more than 60 percent of our graduating class going on to post secondary education,” said Bloomington principal Ignacio Cabrera.